COS 116: The Computational UniverseInstructor: Sanjeev Arora

COS 116: The Computational Universe! Instructor: Sanjeev Arora (arora@cs)! Head TA: J. Alex Halderman (jhalderm@cs)! Preceptors:

" Umar Syed (usyed@cs)" David Xiao (dxiao@cs)

! Labs will be held in (Friend 005)" Mon 7-10, Tues 7-10, Wed 1:30-4:20

! This week: Take-home lab

Ancient dream of man: �Breathe life into matter�

Robot(Karel Capek, 1921)

Frankenstein (Mary Shelley,1818)

�Automata�, (South Germany or Spain, c. 1560)

Also,chessautomata

Golem (Jewish mythology)

�Breathe life into matter� �Another perspective

�Breathe life into matter� �A 20th century perspective

! �Matter�: Atoms, molecules, quantum mechanics, relativity �

! �Life�: Cells, nucleus, DNA, RNA, �

! �Breath life into matter�: Computation

One interpretation: Make matter do useful, interesting things on its own

Computational Universe

Some important distinctionsComputer Science vs. Computer

Programming(Java, C++, etc.)

Notion of computation vs. Concrete Implementations of Computation (Silicon chips, robots, Xbox, etc.)

No programming in this course!

! Not necessary for conceptual understanding

! Gives us more time for a broader coverage of computer science (broader than COS126!)

! No advantage to those who have prior programming experience

Brief history of computers / computation

! Technological:" Clocks

" Clockwork �Automata�

" Mechanized looms, steam engines

" Vacuum tubes, electronic calculators (1910-1930�s)

" ENIAC (1945)

" von Neumann Computer(1949, Princeton)

Brief history of computers / computation (cont�d)! Intellectual

" Ancient Greeks, philosophers (�How to formalize thought?�)

" Boolean logic (G. Boole, 1815-1864)" Crisis in math

! Hilbert: Call to axiomatize math! Gödel: Incompleteness theorem

" Lambda calculus (A. Church, 1936)" Turing machines (A. Turing, 1937)

Both at Princeton;

First clear notion of �What is computation?�

Computer Science:A new way of looking at the world

Example 1:

Example 2: Public closed-ballot elections

! Hold an election in this room" Everyone can speak publicly

(i.e. no computers, email, etc.)" At the end everyone must

agree on who won and by what margin

" No one should know which way anyone else voted

! Is this possible?" Yes! (A. Yao, Princeton)

Example 3: Computational Biology

Old Biology New Biology

Microarrays

Pathways

COS 116 : Course structure

! First 10 lectures:"Cool things computers do and how

! Next 8 lectures:"What�s inside computers, Internet, silicon

chips! Last 6 lectures:

"Complexity, cryptography, viruses, search engines, artificial intelligence

This week�s lab: Blogs & HTML(Take-home Lab; pick up �manual� today)

TextThis week:skim Chapter 1, read pp 12-21, pp 32-51.

Lab in Weeks 2 and 3: Scribbler. What determines its behavior?

(Each student getsone robot)

Bureaucratic details

! 3 hour lab sessions:" M 7-10, Tu 7-10, W 1:30-4:30" Not assigned a session yet? Come see us today after

class!! 1 hour �optional� precept:

" No new material, will explain lecture, help with HW/labs

" Time will be decided today! This week�s lab is take-home: Start your blog

Grading

! Final (in-class): 35%! Lab reports (including answering questions):

35%! Participation (in class, on blog): 15%! Midterm (take-home): 15%

! Attendance at lectures is expected:" Homeworks / lab assignments are handed out and

due in lecture